Era Three: Revolution and the New Nation (1754 - 1820)

The Royal Proclamation of October 7, 1763

Excerpts from the Stamp Act, 1765

Declaration of Rights of the Stamp Act Congress, 1765

John Dickinson, "Letters from a Farmer," 1768

Eyewitness Accounts of the Boston Massacre, 1770

Samuel Cooper’s Eyewitness Account of the Boston Tea Party, 1773

Phillis Wheatley, Poems on Various Subjects, Religious and Moral, 1773

The Intolerable Acts, 1774

Excerpts from Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, 1776

Draft of the Declaration of Independence, images, 1776

Portraits of Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and Benjamin Franklin

Declaration of Independence, 1776

Articles of Confederation, 1777

Thomas Jefferson, Draft of "The Virginia Act for Establishing Religious Freedom," 1779

The Great Seal of the United States, 1782

James Madison, "Memorial and Remonstrance Against Religious Assessments," 1785

Thomas Jefferson, "The Virginia Act for Establishing Religious Freedom," 1786

The Federalist Papers, No. 10, 1787

The Constitution of the United States, 1789

The Bill of Rights, 1791

Later Amendments to the Constitution

Patrick Henry, Letters and Speeches

The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, 1791

George Washington's Farewell Address, 1796

Thomas Jefferson, Kentucky Resolutions, 1798

Kentucky Resolutions, 1799

Thomas Jefferson's First Inaugural Address, 1801

Marbury vs. Madison, 1803

James Madison’s “War Message to Congress,” 1812

Images of the War of 1812

McCulloch vs. Maryland, 1819